Like Father Like Son
by kateanneshepherd
Summary: Amelia has been keeping something from Gabriel. Someone to be correct... What will happen when this someone enters the his life? And what will be Riley's role in all this?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello again Intelligence fandom! **

**I'm back with a multi-shot. This was just an idea that came to me and wouldn't leave me until I wrote it down. This chapter was a little short but I promise if I continue to this (which depends on the reviews) I promise they will be much longer.**

**And I have to add that it's getting pretty late in where I'm living and I didn't have much time to proof read this chapter. So every mistake is mine. And I'm sorry if there are so many.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

She woke up to her phone ringing. Shooting upright, she checked who the call came from.

Gabriel.

She accepted the call but the line dropped dead. Without even thinking about it for a second she rushed out of her warm bed and put some clothes on. In less than 3 minutes, she was in his apartment with her gun in her hand.

"What the hell Riley?" she heard him yell from his kitchen. He looked busy, preparing something on the stove. She wanted to make a comment on the apron he was wearing, but she was too angry at him to make any jokes.

"Gabriel!" she growled. "I thought something happened to you!"

He stated laughing, which made her even more annoyed.

She started walking towards the kitchen area was greeted by the smell of coffee, and her stomach started grumbling in approval. In her exhaustion last night, it appeared that she'd forgotten to eat or drink anything

"Your shirt is backwards." he pointed our with a smirk. With the deathly glare he got from her, he took a few steps back as she walked towards him in a threatening way.

"Hey, hey,hey… calm down! I was just calling to ask if you would like to join me for breakfast. I'm making pancakes. My mamma's recipe."

She calmed down a bit and checked her watch.

6.24 am.

She shook her head in disapproval. "Since when did you get up so early on Sunday mornings? And prepare _breakfast_" she asked shooting her arms up in the air.

" You're the one who wakes up at 5.30 am every single morning. Even on the weekends! I couldn't sleep and was craving for my mamma's pancakes so I _assumed_ you were awake and thought I could invite you."

She growled again in response.

"Someone woke from the wrong side of the bed." he said smiling and handed her a plate with a huge stack of warm blueberry pancakes.

She took in the amazing scent and closed her eyes in pleasure. "Mmmm… These smell so good!" she murmured. All her anger toward him disappeared with just one simple sniff.

"Told ya!"

After a few minutes, the stove was turned off and the two partners were sitting at the table devouring the pancakes. He had never seen Riley eat so much, so fast. She always had a very polite and slow way of eating which usually drew Gabriel crazy.

"I'm guessing you liked them." he laughed.

"Are you kidding me? These are the best pancakes I've ever tried! You have to give me the recipe!"

"Give _you_?" he laughed sarcastically. "Oh no no no. The person who will be doing these need to be doing it with love. And well… I've seen you cook Riley. I can't say that you've got enough _passion_."

Playfully, she stuck out her tongue and continued her pancake. "Then I guess you'll have to prepare these for me at least 3 times a week. Or I won't bring you coffee on my way back from my run like I do every morning." she shrugged.

He gave her a nod and accepted her deal with his always-present smirk on his face

"So, do you have any plans for today?" he asked after a moment.

"None that I'm aware of." she replied, her mouth half-full of blueberry pancake-y goodness.

"Good," he said. "Cause I was thinking that maybe we could enjoy some fresh air today. The weather is beautiful. I was planning to go on a run and since you're my bodyguard, you're coming too "

"Oh, is that so?" She raised an eyebrow. "As much as I would love to listen to your endless rambling on my one day off, I need to go back home and rest. I couldn't sleep at all last night, stuck with a huge pile of paperwork."

* * *

Riley entered the briefing room just a few second before Gabriel did. Seeing this, Lilian rushed over to her.

"Riley, I need to know that you will be with Gabriel and support him no matter what happens or whatever he does to push you away. Because I know he will do this to everyone around him after what I will tell him in a moment." She quickly whispered to the young agent's ear.

"Wh- what are you talking about?" she asked, puzzled. But before she could get an answer, her partner walked into the room.

"Good mornin' ladies." he said with a grin. His arrogant smile faded away when he realised the serious and worried faces.

"Gabriel…" The director of Cyber Command started.

"Wow, this must be serious." he joked as he always did when he was in an uncomfortable, deep situation. "She used her dull, serious tone." he pointed out turning back to his partner.

She smiled back nervously.

What was Lilian going to tell him?

What was this thing that everyone in the room was reluctant to tell him about?

Was it something to do with Amelia?

Because she dreaded that topic. She was the reason her partner's wife died and whenever her name was mentioned, she felt an incredible amount of guilt take over her.

The same thing happened to her whenever she realised that Gabriel was thinking about his late wife or cyber rendering that moment when she pushed him and herself through the window. He'd be staring ahead blankly. She knew he was thinking about her from the hurt expression on his face.

And she hated herself for making that happen.

Seeing his grief always made her feel worse. Much, much worse...

"Gabriel, we have some new information regarding to Amelia." Lilian started.

There.

The glow in his life disappeared and his smile dropped.

"I'm not interested in hearing Any more Intel linking her to that terrorist group. I've let that go and I don't understand why you still can't! She's gone Lillian, and that's all that matters." He raised his voice and was about to leave when Lillian stopped him.

"This has _nothing_ to do with the damn terrorist group, Gabriel..." She sighed. "Please sit down."

Confused, and unlike him, he did as he was told.

She sighed once more before she continued.

"Look, I don't want you to jump to conclusion and get excited–"

"Just say what you want to tell me Lillian. What the hell is going on here?"

The director of cyber command nodded to Jameson and an image of a little boy popped on the large LCD screen behind her.

Riley gasped which gathered the entire rooms attention and made everyone, except Gabriel, turn back to her.

The boy didn't seem to be older than six years old. He was smiling at the camera with a toy lion securely tucked under his arm. But what was the most obvious thing that caught everyone's eye and made Riley gasp was the boys neatly cut blond hair and a stunning eyes full of life. Which reminded her of someone she knew very well.

His resemblance to Gabriel was undeniable.

"His name is Connor. He's five, and is Amelia's son." Lilian said slowly.

That was when Gabriel stood up in a flash, hitting the table as he did so. "That's impossible!"

"Apparently, Amelia had a son in England. Gabriel, I wanted to inform you about this because she specifically asked regarding parent to call this agency and ask for you in case she didn't come back."

He shook his head. "So I have a son?"

"See, this…this is why warned you not to jump to conclusions. We cannot be sure about that."

"Oh, come on Lillian! Look at the boy. Can't you see the resemblance?" Dr. Cassidy asked from a distance.

Lilian gritted her teeth. "We _cannot_ be certain about that until we can confirm it with a paternity test."

Gabriel ignored everyone in the room. A thousand things were going through his head. He couldn't believe what was happening to him. A child would definitely change his life drastically. _Screw the paternity test! _he thought to himself. That little boy was Amelia's son and she'd asked them to contact him if something happened to her. It didn't matter if it was his child or not.

He couldn't save her. He was responsible for her death. And he was responsible for that boy being left an orphan.

"Is he still in the UK?" Gabriel asked. Riley immediately noticed how his hands were shaking.

"I need… I need to bring him here."

"I'm sorry but I do not approve you going to England to get the child. I will send someone else." Lilian replied sternly. "In the meantime I want you to go home. There's nothing you can do here."

* * *

"Gabriel!" Riley called out as she chased him down the hall. As soon as Lilian had finished her words, he had stormed out the door. And she knew all too well where he was going.

"Please, stop!" she tried once more. She heard him sigh and he turned around to face her.

"What?" he asked, sounding pretty annoyed, furious and also desperate.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Home." he shrugged. "Isn't that what _the boss_ told me to do?"

She rolled her eyes. "I know that we haven't known each other for a long time Gabriel but I think I know you pretty well by now. And I _know_ that you're not going home."

"So, what?"

"Would you please stop arguing with me and listen?" she asked impatiently. "I can't imagine what must be going through your head right now but I don't want you to get hurt and that's why I don't want you to go there…alone."

* * *

**I hope you liked this little story of mine. If you did, please leave a REVIEW. I'd love to hear your ideas.**

**I just though it might be fun to explore Gabriel with kids and of course how Riley fits into all this. Should I continue?**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I want to start by thanking each and every one of you for following favourite-ing and reviewing! I didn't expect to have so many followers so fast!**

**I know I promised a longer chapter but here's the thing; I have a very busy life and I only get time to write after midnight.**

**This chapter was actually supposed to be 3.400 words long but I had to cut it so I'd have something to post if I can't write anything by the end of the week. So I promise you, the next chapter will be up before Friday.**

**I don't get my chapters beta-ed so all the mistakes are mine. And please bare in mind that English is not my native language.**

**Again, thank you so much for reading :)**

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She kicked off her shoes and curled into a ball on the comfortable plane seat. Snuggled under blankets she'd brought, she rested her head on the seat.

"Try to get some sleep Gabriel." She told him and waited for a while to get a response. She got worried when he stayed silent.

No, Gabriel Vaughn was not the kind of man who would stay silent for so long. So, she sat up and looked back at the man who was sitting right behind her.

He was staring blankly ahead while playing with a wedding ring in his hand. She had only seen that once since she met him and that was when she found him in a bar in Mexico. In the exact same position as he was now.

He was thinking about Amelia.

She walked over and sat next to him. "What are you thinking about?" She asked kindly.

Again, when he continued to stay silent she gently touched him and pulled his head up so his eyes can meet hers.

"Gabriel, you don't have to keep it all inside. You know that I'm here if you need to talk, right?"

"I can't believe she did this to me." He finally spoke in disbelief. "She left me with so many questions. And... and now, a son? I just..." He sighed and quickly turned away.

Riley could've sworn she saw a tear slipped out of his blue eyes.

"You know that Lilian might be right. You can't be sure that Connor is yours…" she lied. She desperately wanted to believe what she just told he partner but the truth evident.

He gave her a nervous smile. "Thank you for the effort to make me feel better."

"I wish I actually _could_ make you feel better."

He waited for a while to continue. "You know, I've been trying to find some information about the boy. Some pictures, records… Anything! But it's like he doesn't exist! I can't even find him with the chip. The only thing I have of him is that photo Lilian showed."

As he continued to talk with her, he studied the photo for probably the 50th time. He could see Amelia in him and felt a twinge of sadness over the idea that she was dead.

"Amelia was probably trying to protect him. Keep him a secret so no one could hurt him…"

He let go of a long, frustrated sigh. "I don't know if I could take care of a kid. With what we do and how we live… It's not a life for a child."

"You, Gabriel Vaughn, are the kindest, most compassionate, protective and playful person I've ever known." she said, smiling. "If you decide to be, I'm hundred percent sure you'll be a great father to him."

He chuckled. "It's funny because with Amelia, I always wanted to have a family. I lost hope after she left and assumed that it would be for the best. I tried so hard to convince myself that I was not fit to be a parent. Well I guess I succeeded."

She didn't tell him anything else. No, he didn't need to talk. He just needed someone to be by his side while he was going through all his frustration, confusion and confrontation. So she gently reached out to hold his hand and snuggled next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Try to rest." She whispered. "We still have eight hours to go."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Riley waited until his breathing slowed down and she too felt asleep right afterwards.

Her hand stayed in his the entire time.

* * *

When they reached the door of a two-story typical family house, Riley could see the hesitance on Gabriel's face.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

He nodded faintly but she could almost hear his heart beating like crazy.

They rang the doorbell and instantly heard tiny footsteps running towards them. Unknowingly, Gabriel took a step back.

From the semi-transparent door they saw a silhouette of a woman chasing after a little boy and stopping him right before he could answer the door.

"You're not supposed to open the door by yourself, remember honey?" they heard her say silently.

The woman who they assumed was the one taking care of the boy, peeped through the hole and bent back down next to the child.

"Connor, I need you to go back to the living room."

The door was soon opened and there stood a tall blonde woman with a kind smile.

"How may I help you?"

"My name is Gabriel Vaughn. I'm assuming you called me?"

"Mr. Vaughn, please come in. I believe we have something important to talk about."

She showed them the way to the kitchen and asked them to sit down.

"I'm Anne Greggart, I'm an attorney and I was also a close friend of Amelia's. You should first read the letter and then we'll talk." She told him and handed him an envelope.

He didn't want to do it. Not there at least. That letter was probably the last thing that was left from his wife. He needed to be alone while reading it, not with both his partner and the attorney's eyes on him.

"Auntie Anne! I'm hungry." he heard the little boy whine from a distance. And thanks to his call, Anne left the table to prepare something for Connor.

Riley didn't want to disturb him from the beginning so she made an excuse about needing to check the perimeter and left too.

His hands were shaking as he unfolded the letter and he waited a while until he started to read.

_Gabriel, _

_I'm guessing that right now you are feeling angry and betrayed and probably looking desperately for an out because you haven't given your brain a chance to accept what this means and attach an emotional response to the situation. I realise the you will demand all the necessary tests, but you don't need to do more than look at him and see your face, your smile and know in your heart that he is yours._

_I regret having kept him from you all these years. I guess when your life gets cut short you start to take stock and realise what is or isn't important. And it is important for Connor to get to know his father. Because his father is someone worth knowing. _

_I knew that I could've told you about the baby and that when I did, you would've quit everything and leave behind your entire life just to keep us together as a family. But I couldn't do it. You loved what you did and I couldn't just ask you to leave everything behind and start a life you don't believe in nor approve. So I came to the conclusion that carrying your child would not change my plans to disappear. _

_And I left._

_I thought I had everything figured out. I was going to abort the baby and everything would be back to the way it was. I spent weeks trying to convince myself that I was not fit to be a mom. I didn't want our child to be born into the life I was going to give him. A life without his doting father…._

_However I couldn't go with it Gabriel. The thought of killing our baby was not something I could handle. _

_I was still determined about not being fit to become a mother though. I had all my options laid in front of me and again, I made a decision. I was going to give away our child so that he could have a much better life. After all it was my best option. _

_I don't know why I decided to do that, I was not thinking straight and had lost my compass. _

_I felt lost. _

_But that feeling lasted until the moment I held Connor in my arms. HE was my new compass. _

_And I couldn't abandon him. _

_He quickly became my entire world and a part of you that I would have forever._

_I know keeping him a secret was a selfish thing for me to do to you and a selfish thing to do to our son. _

_Regardless, on May 17, 2008 I was blessed with the most precious gift and I am now entrusting that gift to you._

_Love Always,_

_Amelia_

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**I hope you enjoyed reading this little chapter. Please let me know how you feel. Review motivate me to stay up all night and write. They really do :)**

**BTW who is as excited as I am about next weeks episode. Did you guys watch the promo? It looks like it's going to be an amazing episode!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi again! **

**42 followers?! Wow! I did not expect THAT many followers in just 2 chapters! **

**I want to thank each and every one of you who has read, followed, favourite-ed and reviewed! I love you all :)**

**Here's a much longer chapter. I had much more fun writing this because now I can write about little Connor! **

**I have some bad news though. This week's going to be crazy for me and I don't know if I'll be able to update at all. **

**Maybe just 1 chapter and that's only if your feedbacks can give me the enough energy to not sleep for a night :/**

**I hope you'll enjoy this little chapter! See you next time!**

* * *

_...I know keeping him a secret was a selfish thing for me to do to you and a selfish thing to do to our son. _

_Regardless, on May 17, 2008 I was blessed with the most precious gift and I am now entrusting that gift to you._

_Love Always,_

_Amelia_

He was fighting back the tears as he read the last sentences. He was confused and hurt. He was hoping that with this letter all his questions would be answered but to his disbelief the most important one was not.

Why.

She hadn't written why exactly she did what she did. Gabriel knew Amelia better than anyone ever could. He knew while reading the letter that the reasons she tried to give him were fake.

Anne came back a few seconds later. "Gabriel I believe you're aware that the child just lost his mother and is for all intents and purposes an orphan. He needs a home and I'm not sure why, but Amelia felt that he should be with you." she explained getting right into the subject. "Would you like to come and meet him."

He nodded but in reality, he was not ready to face his _son_.

She showed him the way to the living room, Riley joined them at the hallway. The older woman stopped and he did too, seeing the small child sitting quietly in a chair holding onto a stuffed toy. She knelt down and took hold of the child's hand.

"Honey, can you say hello to Gabriel?" Anne asked him sweetly.

Gabriel stood back, hands on his hips and every bit as terrified as the little boy that was looking up at him. The child pulled his feet up into the chair, pulling his knees into his chest and put his head down, refusing to look at anyone or make a sound. Anne stood up and looked back at the man.

"He's been through a lot." she said hoping to trigger something that resembled compassion from the large man who didn't seem to realise how intimidating his size was to the little boy. "And he's not used to seeing a lot of different faces around here."

That made Gabriel turn back to Riley who hadn't even entered the room. She smiled at him, encouraging him to go and meet his son.

"Does he know who I supposedly am? Does he know why I'm here?" he asked.

"No, Amelia thought it was best if you two met without him having any preconceived notions about what you were going to be to him. You can understand that he's very confused and misses his mother a lot." She told him.

Once again he glanced down at the child and could see that he was trembling. The reality of the situation finally sank in. This small person was his son, his responsibility and it didn't matter whether he wanted to be a dad or not because there was a small, helpless person that needed somebody to make sure he was taken care of.

He squatted down to the child's level and placed a gentle hand on the boy's head and then moved it down to his shoulder.

"It's okay Connor, don't be afraid." He said softly.

The boy lifted his head up enough to peek out at the source of the voice.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"My name's Gabriel. Your mom was a very good friend of mine and she asked me to come and visit you." he said in a soft tone and held out his hand out for the boy to shake.

Connor finally relaxed and straightened his legs back out. He put his small hand into Gabriel's and let him shake it.

"My second name is Gabriel." The boy told him.

The agent forced a nervous smile. "I'm very pleased to meet you little guy."

After a while Connor felt safer with his surroundings and his eyes met the beautiful woman's who was leaning onto the door frame.

"Who is _she_?" he asked shyly while pointing at Riley.

"Her name's Riley. She's my partner." He replied but when he saw the confused look on the boy's face he felt like he needed to explain further. "Uhmm… you know, we work together. Sh-she's my friend."

Connor seemed satisfied with the answer. "Like you and mommy." He pointed out.

Gabriel was lost of words. Thank god, Riley came to his rescue, kneeling down right next to her partner.

"Hi Connor." She gave him one of her sweet smiles and Gabriel couldn't help but smile too. It was almost contagious.

"Wow! Is that Simba from Lion King you've got there?" she asked excitedly, pointing to his stuffed animal.

Connor's eyes shot open in surprise. It was not every day he met an adult who knew about his favorite Disney character.

"You know Simba?"

"Of course I do!" she laughed. "Who doesn't know Lion King?"

_I don't. _Gabriel thought. Although it would only take him a few seconds to learn every single information about the movie.

But with that, he realized that he knew nothing about children and it just hit him like a ton of bricks. Especially after he saw how natural Riley was around the child.

Again, he was starting to think that he was not cut out for this at all.

So, to take a moment to breathe and clear his mind he stood up and left the room, leaving both Anne and Riley confused.

Connor didn't seem to mind though. He was enjoying the attention he got from this lady who he found really pretty.

"I can show you my toys." He suggested.

His excitement was easily seen through his eyes. And even though their eyes were not even the same color, he had the same exact glow as his father.

Riley looked up at Anne, as if asking for permission. She got a smile from the older woman and turned back to the cute little boy who was already starting to win her heart. Being charming must be coming from the genes.

"I would love to see them Connor! Are they in your room?"

"Yes! Follow me!" he exclaimed, jumped off the chair and dragged the woman out of the room.

And just like that, Connor had a new playmate.

* * *

A few hours later it was time to tell Connor the news. He was definitely more comfortable around the two adults he met. Riley of course played a huge role in this. They spent almost the entire afternoon playing games and watching cartoons. Gabriel joined them every now and then but always acted so weird and distressed while interacting with the boy.

"Connor, there's something we need to talk about." Gabriel said inviting the boy to come and sit down with him on the sofa. "I think you liked spending time with us today, right?"

"Yes. It was fun."

"There's something else your mommy asked me to do Connor." he paused and waited for a while to get the little boy to understand that this thing he was going to tell him was actually what his mother wanted.

"She wanted you to come and live with me in America."

"Why?" he asked, sounding very puzzled.

Anne stepped into their conversation. "Honey, remember when I told you that mommy is gone far far away? That's why she asked Gabriel to come here and take you to his house." She tried to sound as gentle as possible; fully aware that the boy did not understand the situation he was in.

"No. I want to stay at _my_ house." He quavered. Glancing back at Gabriel, his teary eyes filled with fear.

"Connor, you're going to live there from now on." Anne said once more.

"Why?" he yelled, tears falling down his cheeks. "I don't want to!"

Gabriel looked at the small boy, frightened, confused and no mother to comfort him and it got to him. He mentally cursed Amelia for doing this not only to him, but also to this innocent child that had to be completely lost at this point.

"Buddy, please… I promise you that everything will be all right. We're going to have so much fun and-"

"I don't want to go with you!" he screamed and started kicking the air, throwing a fit

"Connor you're coming with me. So please don't resist or else…" he stopped himself immediately when he realized that he was starting to loose his temper.

"Or else _what_?" Anne interjected sternly. She did not like the way he raised his voice to the crying child.

"What concern is it of yours?" he snapped, loosing control over his actions completely.

"What are you going to do to him if he resists going with you?" she rephrased sounding rather annoyed.

"I'll take care of it." He replied.

"Are you going to be able to take care of him? Cause you sure as hell don't seem so capable to me."

"He'll get taken care of." He assured her.

"What does that _mean_?" she pushed him.

"Look lady, you've done your job so just go home!" Gabriel snapped at her, scaring the child back into a curled up position.

"Gabriel!" Riley warned as she went over to Connor and wrapped her arms around his shaking body.

"Fine Mr. Vaughn. My phone numbers are in the folder if you have any questions." Anne told him and reluctantly left him with the frightened child.

All of a sudden, Gabriel came back to his senses and buried his face in his hands with frustration. He mentally slapped himself for acting like such an asshole to that woman and a monster to the child. He didn't know himself why he lost his temper so easily. It was not something he did very often.

He peeked though his fingers and saw how Riley tried to comfort the boy, drawing soothing circles on his back and rocking him gently. Just like a mother would. Something he so needed right now.

He stood up looked down at the boy once again and decided there was no delicate way to handle this. The child was traumatized, scared and nothing he could do in that moment would change that. He reached down and picked the boy up. Connor didn't resist or put up any kind of fight and Gabriel found himself wishing he had, deciding it would've been less difficult to deal with. Instead, in a move of complete sadness and resignation, he simply wrapped his tiny arms around the man's neck, let his head rest on his shoulder and whimpered, cried, shook.

Riley came from behind and patted his back. "It's all going to turn out alright." He heard her whisper.

Connor cried himself to sleep in the car, his small body stretched out over the backseat, refusing to sit up with the seatbelt properly fastened.

He carried the small body into the plane and work him up gently, informing him that they were about to take off. Connor refused to even look at him let alone talk. Gabriel went over to his seat multiple times and asked if her wanted anything but didn't get the child to say anything.

Half and hour into the flight both Connor and Riley had fallen asleep on the plane seat that they had converted into a bed. The little boy was nestled into her side, his head resting on her chest and her arm wrapped securely around him. They looked so peaceful and natural. He felt his stomach tighten a little as his heart went to his throat. His head was still trying to catch up with what had just happened. His life drastically changed since he'd left his home the day before. He would wait for the results of the paternity tests and decide what exactly he was going to do with him even though he had no reason to doubt that Amelia had really done this to him, to them.

He gently placed a blanket over his partner and the little boy who was hanging on to her like she was the only thing that he had left.

He watched them for a while. She was surprisingly so natural around him, so nurturing. The would've probably been the last trait he thought his partner would have.

Yet there she was… And Gabriel didn't know how he would've handled this situation if Riley hadn't been there. He felt so lucky to have someone like her in his life.

"Thank you." he whispered and turned back to go to his seat.

"You're welcome." she replied sleepily.

He chuckled and sat down onto his seat. "Try to get some sleep Riley. If I'm really going to do this, I will need my babysitter to be rested and energised."

"In your dreams Gabriel Vaughn!"

* * *

**I hope you like it! Please leave a review! They real mean a lot to me!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi again!**

**I'm sorry it took me so long to update!**

**I will try my best not to wait so long for my other chapters. I've been at a conference the past 4 days and couldn't even get some sleep! I didn't get to have a proper weekend to rest and now started another hard and test-filled weekday! Great! Right?**

**And a huge virtual hug to everyone who had read, followed, favourite-ed and reviewed! I love you all and you make my tiring life much much better :))**

**I hope you'll enjoy reading this little update!**

* * *

Gabriel waited impatiently for the coffee to finish brewing, poured himself a cup, turned around and ran smack into Connor. He managed to keep most of the hot beverage from spilling onto the child, the majority of it hitting the floor, but the part that hit the boy's forearm was hot enough to make him cry out in pain.

Gabriel cursed to himself and quickly lifted him up to the sink and ran cold water over the burned area, his soft, delicate skin a bright, angry red where the hot liquid had touched.

"I'm sorry Connor… B-but you can't sneak up on me like that, especially when I think you're sound asleep." He awkwardly apologized.

"It's okay, it only hurts some." The boy answered, fighting back his tears.

Gabriel pulled the child away from the water and sat him on the counter. The burn wasn't severe, but a blister was starting to form.

"Don't move." He told him and disappeared into his bedroom, returning a moment later with a first aid kit.

He applied an ointment to the burn and bandaged it.

"Does it feel better now?"

"Yes, it's better." The boy told him and attempted to leap off the counter.

"He! hey, don't do that! We don't want another accident do we?" he said, picked the child up effortlessly and placed him on the cold floor.

"No…" he replied looking down at his bare feet.

Gabriel didn't know why he was instantly so upset and he also didn't know how to fix it. How to make him feel better… It had only been 8 hours since they came back home and he still kept on being awkward around the boy. And Connor's actions didn't help him either.

Their plane had landed at noon and because Connor had spent the entire flight sleeping, he refused to get to bed as Gabriel asked him to do. However he also refused to stay close to the adult. He would shut himself off and play with whatever object he found in the small apartment. They had only brought a few toys with them but the only thing he did was carry around that lion cub around with him wherever he went.

On their fist night together Gabriel did a quick research and learnt everything about 6 year olds and how to entertain them. He tried playing with him, watching cartoons, making up stories but nothing seemed to work.

Connor was afraid of him. And it seemed like it would take Gabriel forever to change his mind about that.

"Connor, why are you upset?" he asked, gently touching his chin and pulling his head up.

"I'm not." he shrugged and pulled back.

Gabriel knelt down to the child's eye level and looked at his deep brown eyes. "Alright then, are you angry with me?"

"A little." he murmured. "But it's okay."

"You're angry at me for bringing you here without you wanting to come?"

Connor nodded in response. "But mommy will come and find me soon so we can go back home. And I will get to sleep in my bed with all my toys."

Gabriel froze at the boy's answer. He didn't know what to say after what he just heard. Did that innocent, little boy believe that his mother was alive? Had nobody ever explained to him about the situation he was in or was he just having a hard time understanding the concept of death?

He stood up and started pacing around, trying to clear his mind. He knew he should sit him down and explain the entire thing to him before this gets out of hand but he didn't know how to use the right words. He too needed time to get used to this idea.

So, he decided to delay their conversation and distract the boy with something he thought he would enjoy.

"Want some pancakes for breakfast today?"

"Today is Wednesday." he pointed out. "You can't have pancakes on _Wednesday_."

"Why not? There's no such rule. We can do whatever we want." He winked at the boy, trying to be the 'fun guy'. He thought that maybe that could help to break the ice between them.

But Connor's response was the exact opposite of what he thought would happen. "It is a _rule_."

"Who said so?" Gabriel laughed.

Connors face dropped instantly and he went back to avoiding eye contact.

"Mommy did."

Gabriel wanted to punch himself. Of course his mother must have put that rule! Who else would!

"What about cereal?" he asked trying to change the subject as quick as he could.

Connor ran behind the counter and hid himself behind it.

"No. I'm not hungry anymore."

"Connor, please… Look you need to eat something so you can have energy to play with me today.

"I don't want to play with you!" he yelled. "I just want my mommy!" He stood up from his hiding place and started throwing everything he could grab a hold of.

"Stop Connor. You're going to hurt yourself." He warned, dodging a spoon.

"I hate you!" he continued. His eyes were filled with tears, ready to pour down his face. He grabbed the plate Gabriel had set for him and threw it right to the adult's face.

It missed it's target though, and shattered when it hit the floor. That was the last straw for Gabriel and for the second time in less than 48 hours, he lost his rage.

"Stop it!" He roared. His loud voice even startled himself and he stopped immediately.

Connor was standing right in front of him with his arm up in the air, ready to throw the second plate. He didn't move a muscle though and kept staring at the angry. His eyes were wide open and Gabriel could see that he was shaking.

The second plate on Connor's hand fell and broke into many pieces right under his tiny, bare feet.

"Don't move Connor." He said sternly and tried to make his way to the child.

Before Gabriel could make it to him, Connor started screaming and tried to run away. He cried out in pain when one of the pieces cut his foot. Gabriel rushed over and picked the child up in a swift move. He carried him to his room and placed him on his bed.

"Let's check that cut shall we?" he asked silently, trying his best to hide his frustration. He held the tiny foot and was about to start examining it when Connor pulled away harshly.

"I don't want you to touch me!"

Gabriel didn't know what else to do. He was lost and filled with rage.

"Alright!" he simply said after a while and quickly left the room.

Connor watched him leave. The second the door banged closed; he curled into a ball and started crying.

Gabriel paced through the hall, trying to decide what to do. He didn't know how to calm the kid down. How to talk to him or make him understand that he was not a monster. Finally he decided to call the one person that could get him out of this sticky situation.

He sighed in relief when the call was picked up just after a couple of rings.

"Gabriel?" He heard his partner ask.

"Do you think you could come over? Something happened with Connor and uhm... he wont let me do anything to comfort him!"

"Don't worry I'll be there in a few minutes." She answered and hung up quickly.

* * *

**I hope you liked this short little chapter (well it was actually pretty sad, but...)**

**Please leave a review though! I would love to hear your thoughts about the story :)**

**P.S. This will definitely be a very unrelated question but, I just finished reading the last book I had store in my shelves. So if you guys have any suggesting or books that you think I HAVE to read then please let me know!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm so sorry for the delay guys. But life's been crazy! (well, my country mostly :/ )**

**I don't know when I will be able to update next but I will do my very best to update within this week.**

**Thank you all for your amazing reviews, follows and favorites. You guys managed to put a smile on my face when I was having the worst days of my life.**

**I love you all.**

**P.S. I'm not very happy with how this chapter turned out and I didn't have time to check the spelling and ****grammar so I apologise in advance.**

* * *

"What happened?" She asked as soon as he answered the door.

"I don't know how it happened!" He replied, running his fingers through is short hair. He seemed tense and Riley could easily sense it the moment she entered the apartment.

"I asked if he wanted breakfast and I think in between I said something that reminded him of Amelia. And then he went ballistic!"

She walked across the room, noticing the kitchen tools and broken pieces of glass on the floor. She tried to picture the scene and couldn't believe how a little, sweet boy like Connor could've done all this damage.

"I should've approached gentler to him, I know. I didn't mean to get him so upset. I really didn't."

The regret in his face broke Riley's heart and at that moment all she wanted to do was to take all his pain away.

She tried to imagine how hard it must be for Gabriel, going through all of this.

He'd kept mentioning that Connor's excuse to his distant behaviors was because he was facing so many changes at once.

But he was too.

Normally a father has time to prepare himself for parenthood. Gabriel didn't even get a couple of days until he brought Connor home.

"Would you like me to go and talk to him?" She asked.

He sighed in relief. "Oh, please... I have no idea why, but apparently he sees me as a monster and refuses to talk to me at all!"

"Gabriel..." She took his attention and when his eyes met hers, she gave him a smile. "You just took the child away from the only place he knows as home. He's six, confused and misses his mother. He just needs someone to blame and unfortunately he chose you."

He chuckled nervously. "We'll then great! How on earth will I make him like me? Or the question I should be asking here is how long will it take because I can't deal with all of this for much longer." He pointed to the mess on the floor.

Riley patted his back. " I'm sure he will get to see the real you soon. As unbearable you are to me, you are fun to those little kids. Just give him some time and he'll warm up to you."

"I'm _that_ unbearable to you?" He teased with a smirk.

"Yes! Yes, Gabriel you certainly are. Now... Where's Connor? In your room?"

He nodded. "But wait a sec." He went over to one of the cupboards and grabbed a first aid kit.

"He stepped on a piece of glass and didn't let me tend it. Could you...?"

"Of course." She took the kit from his hands and took a peek inside. She was surprised to see all the tools and different types of medicine that was stuffed in the bag.

""Hydrogen peroxide?" she read. "Wow, Gabriel, you've surprised me again. I never thought you were a hydrogen peroxide type of guy." She teased him.

"Well, my mama raised all her sons to be qualified for everything a household needs."

"Oh, so you can also cook and clean and tend wounds. I bet you can even sew your own clothes!"

"As a matter of fact, I am Agent Neal." He said confidently. His smile had returned and he was back to being himself again.

She started laughing uncontrollably. "So that's the reason you eat takeout almost everyday?"

He looked at her, surprised.

"What? I watch out for you Gabriel. I don't need to have a chip in my brain to tell me everything you do. I can see you from my bedroom window remember?"

"Oh, so that's why I constantly have this feeling like I'm being watched."

"It's my job." He shrugged and walked towards the bedroom.

"Hey." She said slowly as she entered the room. "I heard you didn't have a very nice morning?"

Connor nodded sadly.

"You had a little fight with Gabriel and got yourself hurt, is that correct?"

He nodded again and raised his foot up in the air for her to see. "Aww…" she cooed. "That does not look like a very nice cut. Can I check it?"

"Okay…" he replied slowly, still avoiding eye contact.

She took a closer look at his tiny foot and saw that it was nothing serious. Grabbing the hydrogen peroxide from the kit, she prepared to clean the cut. As she was doing that, she couldn't stop smiling, thinking about the conversation they just had.

Gabriel Vaughn was one of a kind. That was for sure.

The boy winced as she gently applied it. Instinctively she started blowing on it and finished it as quick as she could.

"You're nice." Connor commented, finally looking up and smiling at the young woman.

"Thank you."

"Are you a mommy?"

His simple, innocent question made Riley stop bandaging and look up at him with her eyes wide open.

She chuckled. "What made you think so?"

"You're kind… and fun… and pretty. Just like all mommies are."

She ruffled his thick, blond hair and gave a kiss on his forehead. "That's so sweet of you to think like that about me, little man. But I'm not a mom. I just enjoy spending time with kids." She bent closer to him like she was going to give him a secret and whispered. "Kids are much more fun to be around than grown ups."

Connor burst out into laughter and Riley soon joined him. They goofed around the bed for a little while.

And the incident of the morning was soon forgotten.

"You're an incredibly sweet kid, Connor." She said after a while and her words made Connor immediately stand up and give her a big, tight hug.

The reason of this hug was not because he was pleased to hear what she though about him, Riley was fully aware of that.

She felt how the boy clenched his tiny hands around her shirt and buried his head deep into her chest.

This was simply his way of expressing his need to be comforted in someone's arms.

He was in desperate need of affection.

"You like me." He said out of nowhere with his head still buried in her shoulders.

"Gabriel doesn't…"

She pulled him away from her embrace so she could look at him in the eyes. She frowned when she so his red, puffy eyes. And she was once again reminded of the resemblance between him and her partner.

"That's not true Connor. Gabriel's doing the best he can to make you happy and comfortable here. He likes you very much."

"But he took me away from my mommy and this morning he yelled at me!" Tears instantly formed in his eyes and he wiped the few that escaped with the back of his hands.

"Sweetie, Gabriel brought you here because your mommy asked him to. She thought that it was the best for you to stay with him. And this morning Gabriel was very scared and worried that you would get hurt. That's probably why he raised his voice." She tried to reason with him.

"No, he was being mean. I though he was going to hurt me!"

Riley didn't want to push any further and calmed down the child who was on the verge of another meltdown.

"Okay… Alright Conner, can you tell me what exactly happened this morning?"

"I had to go to the toilet when I woke up but I didn't know where it was. So I looked at Gabriel's room and couldn't find him there. I saw that he was in the kitchen and I went behind him to ask. But when he turned around to me he poured the coffee on my arm."

"He poured the coffee? On your arm?"

"Yes. He said that I scared him and he looked _very _angry."

Then he continued to tell her what happened step by step, including every singled detail. He told her how Gabriel yelled at him to stop when he started throwing things at him and he said that he wouldn't talk to Gabriel ever again and be cross with him forever.

They stayed silent for a moment before Connor spoke again.

"It's mommy's rule." He said, his lips trembling. "Pancakes are _only_ for Sundays."

Riley wiped his tears away and stroked his cheek. "I know you miss your mom Connor. It's okay to miss her. But do you think it's also okay to be cross with Gabriel? He really likes you, you know. And he's very sad for yelling at you."

"Yeah… Mommy says that being cross to someone is never nice."

"Yes, yes it isn't. What do you say, we go back in there and apologize to him?"

Reluctantly, Connor stood up from the bed and held the hand Riley had offered.

"Okay. But he should say it back too." He said firmly.

Riley smiled. "I'm sure he will.

* * *

**So, here it is. I hope you liked it.**

**Please let me know with a review or PM. They just make me so happy!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi guys!**

**I'm so so sorry for the late update. A lot's been going on in my life lately.**

**If you guys heard any news about Turkey, then you probably know that my country is on the verge of a civil war. Our current government has done everything in their power to ruin this beautiful country, steal from our people and use religion wrongly to manipulate people. I'm not going to go into deeply into politics cause I know that none of you want to hear about our problems. But I just want you to know about our prime minister who is the murderer of 7 innocent lives during the Gezi Park Protests and again so many innocent lives in Syria. In just a couple of hours we have a minor election and this will be our only way to strip him from his powers. He's already blocked Twitter and YouTube in the past week and is planning to do lots and lots more.**

**Again, I'm sorry for bothering you with all of this. I just had to get it all out.**

**That's the entire reason why I couldn't update this week and why this is more like a filler chapter. I promise you some Gabriel-Connor bonding next chapter. And there will be some action in the upcoming chapters.**

**I love you all and thank you so much for all the support!**

**It's also so sad to know that next episode of Intelligence might be our very last episode If you guys have any news about it's renewal please let me know.**

**P.S. I didn't have time to read it through carefully so there might be a lot of mistakes.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"I found some games for him on your computer so this should keep him distracted for a while." She said entering the living area.

Gabriel nodded and motioned her to sit down next to him.

After Riley had talked with the boy, he came to apologize and they all sat down for a late breakfast. There wasn't much talking involved and the mood in the room was so tense that eventually, after finishing up with their breakfast, Riley took Connor to Gabriel's bedroom and found something to occupy him until she could talk to Gabriel. He needed someone to talk to and express his emotions even though he would deny it and find it ridiculous when she would suggest this to him.

"Lillian just called to tell me that I could take a couple of days off to get everything settled."

"That's good." She said. He was still looking down at his hands, avoiding eye contact with her and she instantly knew that he was going to ask her something.

"How do you do it?" he asked after a few seconds, just like she expected him to. "If someone had told me that you would be this good around kids, I wouldn't have believe them."

Riley chuckled. "Does that mean you find me cold, distant and… well, _boring_?"

"Of course not! You know that's not what I meant with what I said." He defended himself.

She gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "It's alright Gabriel, I was just teasing." She laughed. "I'm glad you think like that actually. It's just… I'm just like this around him because I have quite the experience."

"Is this where I learn that you have a kid that you've been hiding from us all these months?" he asked sarcastically.

"Riley Neal! No way!" he almost choked in his words. His eyes were shot open in surprise and he was looking at her, trying to get and answer.

Riley looked at him with apologetic eyes. "Gabriel… I…" And then she buried her face in her hands and went silent.

Gabriel put his arm on her shoulder in a comforting way and tried to get something out of her. He couldn't believe it. Was Riley Neal, his partner for the past 10 months, actually a mother?

"Riley..." He started. His voice was filled with concern.

Riley's body started shaking and that made Gabriel quickly pull back, puzzled.

Riley looked up at him and held her breath. She tried so hard, but after seeing his face she couldn't hold it any longer and burst out into laugher.

"Of course not, you idiot!" She was now laughing uncontrollably while Gabriel scowled. "You seriously thought I had a secret child that I left behind just so I could come here and protect you?"

"What? You're the most unpredictable human being I've ever met, Riley. For a second there it didn't seem so impossible!"

She smiled. "Calm down Gabriel. Look, back when I was working with the president I used to live right across my best friend, Katie. She has two adorable kids and I used to spend nearly all my free time with them. That's why I know my way around children."

Gabriel was looking into the distance with a smirk on his face.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"Nothing, just Auntie Riley running around with a bunch of kids." He said. "I bet they loved you."

"Yeah… Yeah they did. Katie's a single mother. She is juggling two jobs while trying to give her children the best life she can wish for them. I used to babysit for her almost every week. And she needed a lot of help, especially when Aaron, her youngest, got into his trouble two's. He was a handful! And Ella… She's just the sweetest little girl you can possibly meet. She just turned 8 last week."

Gabriel watched his partner's eyes glow as she talked about these two kids that she so loved. "I'm sorry." He said out of nowhere.

"Why?"

"Because now you can't go and spend time with them. Because of me."

"Gabriel, I have no regrets." She assured him with sincerity.

"No? You went from protecting the president and having a steady life around the people you love, to helping a robot that just found out he had a kid!"

She rolled her eyes and punched him on the shoulder. He pulled back with an "Ow!" and started rubbing the area.

"Robots don't say _Ow._" she said.

"Okay. Okay, you made your point. Did you just have to punch me for that? You could've just said so."

"Where would the fun be in that?"

Silence once again filled the room, as both of the agents were lost in their own thoughts.

Riley was thinking about what Gabriel had just told him. When she left her apartment that day to go to Angel's Bluff, she had no idea that her life was going to change so drastically. And when she took the job, she had assured herself that it would only be temporary. She didn't want to believe that going off to dangerous missions with a man with a chip would be her life forever. But of course that had changed just after a few short weeks she spent with Gabriel. He quickly became her best friend. _Her partner..._

No.

She had no regrets.

"You have a lot of things to consider you know." She reminded him after a while. "He will need a proper bedroom. And a school... You might want to try to make this place more, uhm... child-friendly? You need to do a lot of shopping as well Gabriel Vaughn."

She added that last one just to tease him. She knew how much he hated shopping.

"You meant _we..."_ he corrected. "Since I won't be going to work for a few days, you won't be needed there. And I think Lillian would prefer you with me in case someone decides that I'm a threat to this country and comes after me."

"Funny." She commented.

"What's _funny_?"

"You always hated me being in your face the entire day. What changed?"

"I guess I realized what a fool I was. It always nice to have your company."

Riley gave him a threatening glare. "You just want me around in case you can't handle one of Connors breakdowns, don't you."

"No!" he raised his voice in defense.

Riley rolled her eyes at him.

"Alright, alright… Yes, that's true. _However_ I also want you here because I will need my dear, _oh so dear partner _to help me get through all these difficult changes." He said in a dramatic tone, with his blue eyes sad and teary.

"Oh now you're just being cheesy." She said as she stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"Home." She shrugged. "I couldn't even go on my morning jog today! Plus, it will also give the two of you the opportunity to spend some alone time and bond."

She was right at the door and about to leave when he grabbed her arm to stop her. He looked at her with all his sincerity and it sent shivers down her spine. They exchanged smiles.

"Thank you for being here Riley. Seriously…"

* * *

They spent the rest of the day inside. Riley didn't come to check on them which disappointed Gabriel but he figured it would be for the better. He had learn eventually learn how to take care of Connor on his own.

He knew he had to break the ice between them somehow and start acting more like himself around the boy.

After all it was only going to be two of them for the rest of their lives…

After Connor got tired of watching TV, Gabriel gave him some of the coloring books they had brought with them for England. And after they were all done, he plugged in his computer, which he hadn't used for months after having the chip. He hacked into one of his neighbors' Wi-Fi and connected it to the Internet. It took him only a few seconds to find a child-appropriate game website. And after showing Connor how to play the game, he left him in the room and went to wash the dishes.

As he scrubbed and rinsed all the plates he also made extensive research for a potential school. He wanted somewhere where he would be safe. That was his first priority since he was the son of America's most important super weapon. Finding a school was the first thing he had to check off his list. It was already a few weeks into the second semester and he didn't want Connor to miss out a lot. Also, he thought that if he made some friends, it would get him more used to his life here.

He was lost in his thoughts when he felt someone tug on his shirt. He looked down to see Connor's chocolate brown eyes looking up at him, expectantly.

"I'm bored." He said, his voce barely audible.

He knew this would happen sooner or later. He sighed and picked the boy up, placing him on the counter.

"Okay then buddy… Do you have anything in mind?"

Connor shook his head.

"We can play a game." Gabriel suggested but got the same response.

"There aren't any toys in your house Gabriel." The boy explained.

"Who needs toys!" He said excitedly and threw his arms in the air. His sudden actions startled Connor and looked at him with big, confused eyes.

"How can we play a game with no toys?" he asked.

_Good point. _Gabriel thought. His house was usually very empty and dull. He only gave space to things that are needed to survive and a few items here and there that reminded him of his old life. The life he shared with Amelia….

Not in a million years would he have thought that he would need to find something in his house to entertain a six year-old.

He started to walk around the room, drawing circles and expecting the objects to give him an idea for a fun game. Connor was still on the counter watching the man while kicking the surface with the back of his feet.

Gabriel continued looking around. Suddenly an idea hit him and he cursed at himself for not having remembered that earlier.

They were three boys growing up in the Vaughn household. All three of them were as naughty as three boys could ever be. It was almost impossible for their mother to stop them from doing something mischievous, especially during the times when their father was deployed to some dangerous place in the world.

Their mother would usually just throw them out to their backyard and let them run around and play until they were all worn out. But when the weather was bad… Well then, they had no choice but stay at home and turn the entire house upside down. They would make a huge mess every time and drive their mother crazy.

But she was a smart woman. And she usually found a way to keep them occupied with a game and not destroy her home.

Back then; they didn't have all these kids' channels, iPads or computers. So she would have to improvise and somehow come up with these fun, creative games that only needed a few basic items.

Gabriel looked back at Connor and knew exactly which game he would play with the boy.

It would just be perfect!

* * *

**Next chapter will be up really soon (well, unless our government doesn't block our internet access completely)**

**And also I have a question for you guys. Are any of you Lost or Jate fans? And if I wrote a fanfic about them would you read it?**

**Thank you so much and please don't forget to leave a review!**


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